Intuit Works to Avoid Last Year's Tax Filing Snafu

By John Martellaro

Apr 14th, 2008 5:00 PM EDT

Intuit has nearly doubled its server capacity, expanded backup systems and has taken other steps to avoid last yearsi tax filing snafu that left 170,000 TurboTax customers who filed near the deadline with error messages instead of a filed return, according to the Mercury News on Tuesday.

"It obviously was a painful experience for our customers, and a learning experience for us," Intuit spokeswoman Julie Miller said referring to last years problems. She said the company eventually paid almost US$10 in refunds to customers who had last minute problems.

Even so, the glitch hasnit kept customers from filing electronically. The IRS said thereis been an increate of 18 percent this year of electronic filers.

As of Monday night, Intuit said electronic filings were proceeding smoothly, and there have been no major reports of problems on Tuesday.